Two-time RMAC basketball champ takes talents to Germany

By Sara Knuth

The day after Sam Deem’s collegiate basketball career ended, she began pursuing her professional career. She knew it would be difficult to leave behind a legendary team that, for two years in a row, climbed to the top of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and went on to the NCAA Division II tournament. So she began making call after call to coach after coach.

Eventually, she landed an agent. Not long after that, she earned a spot on a team — one located more than 5,000 miles from Denver.

Deem, who joined Regis for her junior year and graduated in May of 2024 with her master’s degree, signed to play with the Avides Hurricanes, a professional team based in Rotenburg, Germany. Deem, a guard and forward for the Rangers for three seasons, was part of a legendary run by the women’s basketball team to the NCAA DII tournament.

At Regis, Deem completed a double major in psychology and marketing and a Master of Arts degree in applied psychology. As soon as her studies wrapped up, her professional career in basketball came to the forefront.

For Deem, the next step in her career was always Europe. While her peers growing up may have dreamed of being drafted by the WNBA, Deem long ago set her sights on playing basketball internationally.

“For me, it was more about going pro overseas, and traveling the world and exploring new cultures,” Deem said.

She was so sure of her dream that she started pursuing it immediately. As Deem wrapped up her time at Regis, she began getting in touch with anyone who she thought could help her sign a professional contract in Europe.

“As soon as we were finished with the season, literally the next day, I didn’t want to be sad about being done with my collegiate career, and I decided to just contact everybody,” Deem said. “And I actually ended up reaching out to probably 40 to 50 different people, whether it was coaches, agents, different players, whether it was pro or college kids, men and women pros overseas.”

Her persistence paid off. With the help of former assistant coach Keeton Peery, in April, Deem landed an agent, who helped put her name on the international map. By late June, Deem was signing a contract with the Hurricanes.

For Deem, tenacity has always been at the center of her basketball career. As a child, she had a history of dislocating her kneecaps — a problem that continued all the way until she had surgery to correct it in high school. The first time it happened, she had to take a break from playing basketball. It was then that Deem realized she missed the sport.

“I was like, ‘I can’t live without this. So, that’s when I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to really start to take this seriously. I’m going to put a lot of work in.’”

From that point on, Deem committed to basketball. As a freshman in high school, Deem played basketball and competed on the swim team during the same season. But she quickly learned that she would prefer to dedicate her time to basketball.

“That was probably about when I took it super seriously,” Deem said. “And then my parents have been super, super supportive. And we’ve been financially blessed enough for me to be able to play club ball.”

Throughout high school, Deem played for BC Denver, a traveling club team. Once it was time to think about college, Deem considered several offers to play basketball, but ultimately chose to sign with the University of Denver. After a couple of years, Deem realized she wanted to find a better fit and considered transferring to Regis. Once she decided to enter the transfer portal, she thought of head coach Molly Marin, who she spoke with often during her recruitment process as a high school student.

Sam Deem, who started playing for Regis during her junior year, said she was motivated to join the Rangers because of the team’s emphasis on caring for each of its players, both on and off the court.

I knew pretty much immediately that I was going to come to Regis, just because Molly really cared for me as an as an individual throughout our recruiting process, and that’s what I was really looking for,” Deem said. Regis’ Jesuit value of cura personalis — Latin for “care for the whole person” — quickly became a theme not only in the classroom, but also on the court.

“I really didn’t know anything about the Jesuit values before coming to Regis,” Deem said. “And I think Molly is the epitome of every single one, just the way that she cares for each individual and the way that she implements them.”

As Deem begins her professional career, she’s continuing a family legacy of success in basketball. Her mom, Debbie Johnson, played for the University of Colorado Boulder. After Debbie met Deem’s dad, Tom, and welcomed their children, basketball remained at the center of their family life. And now, Deem is helping her sister, Sydney, a high school senior, through the college recruitment process.

“You know, when you go through all those hard things, and you’re like, ‘Why did I go through those? Why did that happen to me?’” Deem asked. “I think helping her has been my why.”

Regis athletes sign professional contracts

Women’s basketball isn’t the only sport that’s shining on an international stage this year: A group of top Regis athletes inked professional contracts in the United States and abroad. From the MLB to volleyball leagues in Europe, alumni are representing Regis at the top levels of their sports.

By Cassandra Grady

SOWIZRAL'S COLLEGIATE CAREER

BURBRINK’S COLLEGIATE CAREER